


We Live a Dying Dream

by Noizchild



Series: Wasteland 2011 [13]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Abuse, Angels, Demons, F/M, Forced Prostitution, Gen, Paradise, Parasite - Freeform, Rape, Teenage Pregnancy, Wasteland
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 14:43:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 16,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6570262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noizchild/pseuds/Noizchild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fourth volume up. Third and final part of the "Wasteland 2011" trilogy. Allen and Ophelia have been captured and taken back to the tower by Road and Jasdevi. Road intends to make Allen pay for his defiance, starting with harming Ophelia. Because of what she has witnessed, her plans to break him get pushed up ahead of schedule. Luckily for Allen, he finds new allies in the tower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Scattered

We Live a Dying Dream

Key Zero: Scattered:

What happened to the rest of Allen's party? Allen and Ophelia ended up in an abandoned hospital in the seventh circle's inner ring of the Fallen City. But where did everyone else go?

Harry and Tyrone ended up the east side of the outer ring in the seventh circle. They woke up on the sand in the middle of the vast space. The boys awoke to emptiness. They couldn't smell anything. No angels were visible in plain sight. The silence around them sent chills up and down their spines. They had no idea where everyone else disappeared to.

Grace and Kit ended up the west side of the middle ring in the seventh circle. The sharpness of the cold winds around them awoke them up. They too found no one in sight. However, Grace found the cold unsettling. The distant howling made her stomach as Kit held her in his arms. She knew that they couldn't stay where they were for long. Grace informed Kit of this in his ear. They had no idea where everyone else disappeared to.

It's lucky that the separate parties have a guide with them to try and get out of the rings they are currently trapped in. However, they had no idea that their leader have been captured and taken to the tower for their punishment.


	2. Ophelia

Key One: Ophelia:

Road shook her head, frowning. Allen sat in front of her gritting his teeth. He sure put up a fight as she dragged him back to the tower. At one point, she smacked him in the nape and knocked him out.

"Will you stop struggling already?" she growled just before he went out cold. The walk back to the tower made her angrier. Now that he was awake and back in her chambers, the cold burn she saw in his eyes pissed her off.

"You disobeyed me," Road said. "Running away and hiding out with _that_ creature." She pointed behind her as she said "that creature." Ophelia lay on the ground pale and still worn out from giving birth. She didn't get time to fully recover as she and Allen were taken back to the tower. Road couldn't understand why Jasdevi had to bring her along.

"Did you really think I was going to let you and your little friends walk out of this city just like that?" she asked. Allen glared at her.

"Hm?" Road asked. Allen muttered something under his breath.

"What did you say?" she asked. She leaned in for a listen.

"Go fuck yourself," Allen said in a low voice. Road growled and kicked him in the chest. Her pet bit on his lower lip as he fell on his back. He swore to himself that he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Road stood back, breathing hard.

"You really pissed me off," she said. "And as your punishment, you will be forced to watch your little friend here as she is eaten alive by the angels out here!" Ophelia's eyes widened when she heard her say that. Allen flinched, but refused to show her fear.

"Aw, come on!" Jasdevi complained. "That's it?" Road whipped her head around.

"Is that a problem?" she asked.

"We figured…" Devit began, shuffling his feet.

"What?"

"Well, she's not that cute, but we could use a little more…"

"No!"

"Come on, please?" Jasdero pleaded.

"You already have enough toys in Paradise!" Road said.

"Well, yeah," Devit said. "But we want some fresh meat from time to time. We brought her all this way. Why waste her on them?" Road started to say no, but then an idea came into her head.

"Fine," she said. "Under one condition." The Noah monster picked up Allen by his hair. "You fuck her in front of him." Both angels freaked out as Jasdevi looked like little boys who awoke to a mountain of presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

"Nice!" they shouted. Road sat down on Allen as she forced his head to face Ophelia. He could feel the air leave his body as she sat on his chest.

"You better make this worth my while!" she said. "Don't be arguing and doing petty bullshit like you usually do!" Devit stopped listening as he unzipped his leather pants and mounted Ophelia. She tried to crawl away, but he held her down. She was too weak to push him off.

"Aw, what's wrong? We're only getting started," he purred. Devit used one heavy hand to cover her mouth while the other tore open her raggedy dark brown dress.

"Spread your legs," he said. Big tears formed in the angel's eyes. Devit gritted his teeth.

"I said spread your damn legs!" he shouted. He forced opened her thighs with his free hand. Ophelia screamed under his hand at the sharp pain he forced inside of her. Allen tried to turn away, but Road forced his head to stay in please.

"Stop resisting," she said. Ophelia's screams were muzzled by Devit's hand as he attacked her pound after pound.

"It's tight," he said. "When was the last time you done it?" He sped up his thrusting as tears streamed down her face. Her eyes pleaded for mercy, but Devit pounded savagely. She tried to reach out to Allen, but her attacker forced her skinny arm back into place. He collapsed beside of her, panting. Without a single rest, Jasdero jumped on for a turn. Allen tried to wriggle himself free, but Road punched him in the ribcage.

"Give up, already," she said. "You better not shut your eyes to this show either!" Meanwhile, Jasdero had his hands around Ophelia's neck as he attacked her. She gagged as Devit laughed at her. The angels' stomachs turned at the poisonous sounds feeling the room. Just when the show looked to be about over, the twin monsters combined into their full form of Jasdevi. He grabbed the weakened Ophelia and flipped her onto her stomach.

"Allen!" she cried as she tried to crawl towards him. "Please! Don't look at me!" Jasdevi pinned her down and covered her mouth. Road smiled coldly as her combined brothers mounted their attack from behind.

"It's tight back here too," they said. This time, her breasts wildly bounced from the savage attack. Her muzzled screaming grew louder with the pain.

"Is that blood or are you getting wet?" her attacker asked. Road's full use of her weight held Allen in place. He gritted his teeth as the attack grew fierce. Her tear-filled eyes pleaded with the angel not to look at her like this. Jasdevi ran his nails down her back.

"Say, 'Daddy, I love this'!" he shouted. "Say, 'Daddy, I love this'! Say it!" The blood running down between the angel's legs made it down to her feet. Jasdevi didn't let up until he reached his climax. He lay beside Ophelia panting and covered in sweat. Road hid her smile at the brutality of the show. Jasdevi turned to violated angel as she lay twitching on the cold marble.

"Oh, you think we're done with you?" he asked. The monster rose to his feet, smirking. "Oh, we're not done with you, slut." He rose his foot off the ground and stomped on her chest. The impact made her body jump, causing the air to leave her lungs. Jasdevi's foot came down on her chest three more times. He kicked in the head, ribs, and stomach eight times. The monster finished off with punching the battered angel in the head and throat. He stood back, panting.

"Now, we're done with you," he said before breaking apart into the twins again. Ophelia lay motionless as the twins walked away. Despite finally getting off of Allen, Road prevented him from crawling to the battered angel's aid.

"It's your own fault," she said. "You brought this on themselves." Allen cursed himself as his mistress walked out the door.


	3. Marion

Key Two: Marion:

Jasdevi's attack left Ophelia in a catatonic state. Nothing could reach her. Allen's stomach turned to see her like this. Road patted him on the head.

"This is all your fault," she whispered. "You shouldn't have ran off." Allen gritted his teeth. He tried to push her off. Road snorted.

"You might as well accept your fate," she said.

"I will not," Allen grumbled. His mistress folded her arms across her chest.

"Fine!" she snapped. "Go if you want to! See if I care!" Allen rose to his feet and began walking out of the room. He hadn't made it to the door when he heard Road talking to someone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her talking to Ophelia sitting on her bed.

"Look, your friend's trying to leave," she said. "Where is he going to go?" Road leaned into Ophelia's mouth. "Hm? What's that? He can't leave without you? Why is that, I wonder? Oh! Because he promised to get you out of the city with him? Funny, I don't think he can do it right now!" Allen resisted the urge to scream as he stormed out of the room.

* * *

Each step Allen took only pissed him off further as he walked down the hall.

"She can't use Ophelia to hold over my head like," he muttered. "How could let those two do that to her?" Allen felt anger towards Road, Jasdevi, and himself. He promised to take Ophelia out of the city and wound up back into the tower. His mistress forced him in place as Jasdevi repeatedly violated Ophelia in front of him. What could he do now? Ophelia became dead weight after being raped and beaten. Plus, Road would be damned if she let him escape again. Allen found himself too angry to think straight. He lifted his head, looking around.

"Wait, where am I going?" he asked. "Is this even the right way?"

"Yes, just keep going down the hall," a woman's voice said.

"Oh, thanks," Allen said. He stopped in his tracks, looking around. "Who said that? Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"I'm trying to help you! Just go down the hall!"

Allen shook his head. "No! You're trying to trick me! You're one of them, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not! Just go down the hall to the elevator!"

"You're lying! You're trying to trap me!"

"No, I'm not!"

Allen backed away. "Liar! I don't believe you! It's trap, I just know it!"

"Oh for god sake!" A bone skinny woman appeared in front of him, frowning. Her dark hair came down to her waist as Allen could see through her dress. His jaw dropped.

"Wait… you're an angel too?" he asked.

"Yes!" the woman shouted. "Will you just go down the hall already?!" Minutes later, Allen followed behind with his head lowered. The female angel snorted.

"Honestly, you're lucky you can roam around this stinking tower without consequences!" she said, growling.

"Look, I said I was sorry for accusing you a monster."

The angel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She blew her bangs upwards.

"Anyway, thanks."

"Yes."

"Uh…"

"What?"

Allen's eyes shifted left and right. "What is your name?"

"Marion."

"I'm Allen."

"I know who you are."

The angel backed up, startled. "You do?"

"Oh yes, everyone knows about how you escaped the tower. Though, I am curious about something."

Allen gave her an odd look. "What?"

"How the hell did you and that girl get caught so easily?"

The other angel laughed nervously. "I'm trying to figure that one out myself." He looked when his mood changed. "Say, where are we going?"

Marion rolled her eyes and groaned. "Do you have to keep asking questions? Trust me on this, damn it!"

He put up his hands with a sweat drop on the back of his head. "Okay, okay!" The angel sighed.

"Idiot," she mumbled under her breath. They walked into the elevator and closed the doors.

* * *

Back in her room, Road placed a call for a special order with her plans.


	4. Harem

Key Three: Harem:

The jasmine perfume made Allen's stomach turn. Probably because he was so used to smelling death and rot. Then again, the perfume lay heavy on top of the rot. Allen covered his nose, backing up.

"Don't mind the smell," Marion said. "They try to doll it up." She pushed open the thick red curtains. Allen's eyes grew wide at the lavender and pink in the room. Red wine flowed like waterfalls into white marble fountains. Silk covered the floor. Soft music, possibly jazz, floated through the air. The room had no windows, but artificial lighting. Allen stared at the female angels trapped inside circular gold cages lined with silk.

"What is this?" he asked.

"The Doll House," Marion said.

"The Doll House?"

"This is where we pleasure angels before going to the toy box."

Allen's face twisted up as he took a guess at what she was talking about. "No…. Don't tell me…" It was then he noticed that most of the angels looked so docile, almost asleep. "What's wrong with them?"

Marion bit on her lower lip. "Uh… well…"

"Marion?" a small voice asked. The angels outside the cage looked up and saw a biracial angel looking out. She only had on a silk cloak around her shoulders.

"Yes," Marion said. "It's me." The angel in the cage perked up.

"You're back!" she said.

Marion patted the angel on the head. "Yes, I am back." The smaller angel rested her head against her chest. She happened to look up and notice Allen staring at her.

"Is he going to buy us?" she asked. The male angel raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"No, no, dearest," Marion said. "He's like us."

"He is?" The biracial angel narrowed her deep brown eyes. "How?"

"I am a tower angel, I guess."

"Oh," Marion said. "Alma, this is Allen. Allen, Alma." The angels awkwardly waved.

"Hi," they said. Allen staggered backwards, covering his nose.

"Oh, don't mind the smell," Alma said. "The perfume isn't so bad once you get used to it."

"What is that?" Allen asked.

"We can't be so sure," Marion said. "They are constantly spraying it around us." Judging by the sleepy-looking dolled up angels in their cages, Allen had a few guesses of what the perfume was.

"So… why exactly did you bring me here?" he asked.

"For your safety," Marion said.

"Huh?" Allen asked.

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?"

Marion pressed her hand to her forehead. "You really are clueless, aren't you?" She lifted her head. "They don't take too kindly to angels roaming around alone in the halls."

Allen tilted his head. "Really?"

"Yeah. If they catch an angel wandering around alone, they will beat them until they cough up blood."

He frowned as his eye twitched. _Where have I heard that one before?_ "Hey, can I stay here for a while? If I go back to her, I think I might snap."

For once today, Marion smiled a little smile. "Sure, do as you like."

Allen bowed his head. "Thanks."

"Yeah, whatever."

* * *

Back in her room, Road placed a call for a special order with her plans.


	5. Order

Key Four: Order:

"Hello?" Tykki asked.

"Road, what can I head you with this evening?" the doctor asked over the phone.

"I would like to place a _special_ order tonight."

"Okay, anything in particular?"

"You know that little pet I was eyeing the other day?"

"You can't mean…"

Road nodded. "Yes!"

"You know it is the only one that I have, right?"

"Yes."

"It took me ten years to track this thing down and it didn't go into the jar without a fight."

"Is it still alive?"

"Yes."

"Go check."

Tykki sighed. "Fine."

Road waited as she heard tapping on the glass. "Well?"

"It's still alive."

"How long have you had it jarred up?"

"Twenty years."

Road whistled. "Wow! It's been alive all of those years?"

"Yeah."

"Is it so potent?"

"I believe so."

"So will you let me have it?"

"That will depend."

Road raised an eyebrow. "On what?"

"What do you plan to do with."

"You know what I plan to do with."

"Did I even need to ask?"

"So will you give it to me or not?"

Tykki sighed. "You sure you want this?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay. You can have it."

Road squealed over the phone. "How much will it cost?"

"I'll think about a price. Anything else you want to order today?"

"No."

"Alright, I'll have it ready for you in three days' time."

Road frowned. "Three days?"

"Hey, I've got patients to deal with here. Plus, Jasdevi needed more Red Devil's Breath to keep Paradise running."

His niece rolled her eyes. "They are lucky they have been successful with running Paradise. As far as I can see, it could disappear tomorrow and I wouldn't care."

"Hey, our kind isn't complaining. So, three days good enough for you? I could cancel the order and end this call right now."

"No, no. I'll pick it up in three days."

"Good call."

Road frowned. "Yeah, yeah."

"Nice doing business with you. Now if you have to excuse me, I have my patients to tend to."

"Okay, goodbye."

"Bye." When they hung up, Road smirked as she ran through her plans for Allen in her head.


	6. Paradise

Key Five: Paradise:

Allen lifted his head from the floor. He pressed his hand to his forehead.

"Oh, why is my head hurting?" he asked.

"It's the perfume they spray in here," a woman's voice answered. Allen turned to see Marion standing over him.

"What?" he asked.

"They spray this perfume into the room all the time. Those smelling it for the first time will get violently ill."

Allen lay back, trying not to vomit. The smell was too sweet. He tried to ease himself by taking deep breaths. It was then he noticed something odd about Marion.

"How come this perfume isn't making you sick?" he asked.

"Hm?" she asked. "Oh, I've built up a tolerance for it."

"Tolerance?"

"That's correct. Hang on." Marion turned and walked out of the "lobby" part of the room. Allen tried to follow her with his eyes. She returned with a large bottle of liquid.

"Open your mouth," she said. Allen didn't even ask questions as he complied. Marion opened the bottle and poured the liquid into his mouth. He swallowed in one gulp.

"Better?" Marion asked. Allen's eyes widened as he sat up.

"Yeah!" he said. Allen turned his head. "What was that stuff you just gave me?"

"Melon water."

He tilted his head. "Melon water?"

"That's right."

"How did you get _any_ sort of water?"

Marion tapped the side of her nose. "It's an exchange for some of the services that I have to do in Paradise." Allen stopped short of asking her what she meant by that. Marion already saw the judgmental look in his eyes.

"What? I have no choice."

"You do!"

Marion snorted. "Like what? Escaping? Oh that one worked wonders for you!"

"Okay, it didn't turn out as I planned, but I have to escape from here."

"You might as well give it up! They won't let you go, ever."

Allen frowned as he lay on his back. "Yeah, everyone keeps telling me that."

Marion put her hands on her hips. "Then why hasn't it sunk in that thick skull of yours yet?"

Allen rolled over onto his side. "Maybe because I refuse to end up a vegetable in one of those tanks downstairs." She sighed and sat down next to the angel. Marion didn't want to show him the horrors that she had witnessed and was forced to do. Allen probably wouldn't be able to handle it. He already didn't know much about the tower and the city. Her heart sank as she leaned down to his ear.

"Follow me in the next ten seconds," Marion whispered. Allen lifted his head, blinking.

"Why?" he asked. As if on cue, the heavy silver doors opened. Marion sat on Allen's chest, doing her best to hide him as Jasdevi walked into the room.

"How you little dolls this evening?" they asked. The angels still lucid trembled as they tried not to make eye contact.

"Aw, don't be like that," Devit said, cooing. "I mean, we're all friendly, right?" He and his brother began to circle the cages. Alma pulled her knees to her chest and kept her eyes downwards. She happened to catch Jasdero's eye at the wrong moment.

"Hey, bro! We've got one that looks fun to play with!" he shouted. Alma, Allen, and Marion silently panicked as the older twin walked over to the golden cage. Devit reached into the cage turned the worried angel's face to his. The fear in her deep brown eyes was enough to get him off.

"Good enough," he said. He reached under his wife-beater shirt and pulled out a small silver key. One click later, Jasdero grabbed Alma by her frail wrists and dragged her out of the cage. Devit's face came within inches of hers.

"Screaming won't do you any good, love," he hissed. Alma looked at her "sister angels" in a feeble attempt for someone to rescue her as they hauled her away. Devit forced her head forward before the doors slammed shut behind them.

Behind the cage, Marion closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Secretly, she had hoped some other angel would've been taken to Paradise's many club rooms this evening. She wanted to show Allen the cold reality of this world, but she didn't want to be at the expensive of her dear friend's suffering. It still hurt each time they chose Alma for their depraved pleasure games. Tears began running down Marion's cheeks. _I'm so sorry, Alma._

"Are you okay?" Allen whispered underneath him. Marion quickly wiped away her tears and sniffled.

"I will be fine," she lied. "Follow me." Marion pulled Allen to his feet and led him out the same silver doors. Each step did little to dull the pain in her heart.


	7. Alma

Key Six: Alma:

Jasdevi shoved Alma into a room full of red. The angel turned her head, panicked. The twins grinned, snickering.

"Have fun!" they said before turning to leave. Alma looked behind her as the doors slammed shut. She ran over and began pounding with her fists.

"Let me out!" she pleaded. "Let me out." Alma froze when she heard snickering and wheezing. Against her better judgment, her eyes trailed behind her. A pair of glowing eyes walked towards her.

"Aw, what's the matter?" their owner asked. "I just want to play." Wrinkled gray hands grabbed the angel and dragged her further into the room.

* * *

Marion walked down the hall, trembling. Allen tilted his head.

"Are you okay?" he asked. The angel reached out to touch her shoulder, but Marion slapped away his hand.

"Don't touch me," she hissed. "No, I am not okay!"

"Alright."

Marion took in a deep breath. She couldn't get her dear friend away from the "session" with Allen in tow tonight. It would be too risky. She clenched her fists by her sides. Alma didn't deserve this, but she needed to show Allen that he had no chance of escape. She led him up to an air duct just outside of the "doll house". A confused look came over Allen's face as Marion unscrewed the screws with her nails.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, really," Marion said. She picked up Allen and shoved him into the open duct. The female angel glanced around before climbing into the vent herself.

"You're going to crawl forward and go right," she said.

"I can't move," Allen complained.

"Yes you can!"

"I can't see anything."

"You will see a different light. Just start crawling."

"Okay, okay." Allen drew in a breath and began his long crawl. Marion moved after him, resisting the urge to scream. About two and a half miles later, they came to the red. Marion's stomach dropped as she saw the powerful red through the vent. _No, no. Why did they have to pick that room for her?_

"So why are we here?" Allen whispered. Marion pressed her lips together and trembled.

"Look down and you will see," she said in a choked-up voice. Just by hearing her, Allen detected a hint of foreboding in that command. Against his gut instinct, the angel turned and looked down the vent.

* * *

An old man with gray skin and a dusty coat dragged Alma into the back of the room and threw her face down onto the cot. He stomped down onto her back before she had a chance to get up. Alma tried to look up, but he forced her head forward.

"Don't you move," the old man hissed. He licked the angel along her ear before ramming his snake-like tongue into it. Alma cringed. The old man stood up and whistled. Two more men in black coats stepped forward. Their general moved away from the low cot.

"She's all yours!" he said. The two men disrobed and merged into a giant faceless grey and black creature towering over their target. Alma's eyes widened when she the giant silver "drill" at his pelvis. The old man grinned with his gold and rotting teeth.

"Now the fun begins," he said, rubbing his wrinkled hands together. The faceless monster ripped open the back of Alma's dress. She screamed as the drill was pushed inside. The general sat back with his lit pipe in his mouth. He savored each pound his "nephews" inflicted on the angel. Too bad he couldn't grab him some of the action himself. The general sighed, shaking his head. _This would have to do._ Alma's screaming awoke up something inside of him.

"Keep screaming," he said. "He likes it." She streamed down her pretty round face. The old man reached out and caught one of them at the tip of his claw. One lick made him see the moon in its full natural beauty.

"You know, he can go on all night," the general said. "He can go in as deep as he pleases." Alma let out a hoarse scream as shed felt the drill push even deeper.

"Please," she whimpered. "Please make him-!" Another pound stole her train of thought. The general raised an eyebrow.

"Please what?" he asked. Alma couldn't speak anymore.

"Aw, don't tell me you're breaking down already," the old man said. "That wouldn't be fun." He puffed his pipe and blew smoke into her face. Her tears grew thicker before passing out. The general sat back, shrugged.

"Heh," he said. His blackened demon slowed down and turned to him. His general cut him a sharp glare.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he said, clearing his throat. "I didn't tell you to stop!" The blackened man resumed his work. His general looked at the bloody sheets on the cot underneath them. _Oh dear, looks like they are going to have to change the sheets again._

* * *

In the ceiling, Marion turned to Allen. Now do you see?" she asked. "This is only the reality that we angels in Paradise have to look forward to. Do you _really_ think that we could escape this? Do you really think that? Tell me." Allen sat back with his face drained of color and drew his knees to his bare chest shaking.


	8. Ami

Key Seven: Ami:

-The Living Realm-

"Hurry up!" Ami complained. "I want to go get something to eat!"

"Okay, okay," Lavi said. "I'm coming." The angel ran to his girlfriend with stuffed bags in his arms. He peeked out through the hole. Ami frowned, folding her arms across her chest.

"Can't you keep up?" she asked.

"Sorry," Lavi said. Ami sighed, shaking her head.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked. The spoiled little princess stood three months pregnant. Her grandmother still gave her hell at home. Bookman gave her and Lavi judgmental looks. Her boyfriend gave her a goofy grin.

"Keep me around forever," he said. Ami rolled her eyes.

"Right…" she muttered under her breath. The teenaged mother-to-be walked down the pathway in the outdoor market. She needed to get out of that house today. Her grandmother and Bookman gradually plotted to break up the couple.

"Ami," Lavi spoke up.

"What?" she asked.

"Do you really need all these clothes?"

"Yes!" She clenched her fists at her sides. "Shopping is how I keep from stabbing people!" The angle nervously looked down at the boxes in her arms.

"Yeah, yeah," he said in a low voice. Ami was walking past a dark shaman booth when something caught her eyes. The teenaged mother-to-be backed up for a better look. In the centerpiece of the display sat a big black book covered in rubies and diamonds. Ami tilted her head as she looked at the skulls and blood red Kanji on the cover.

"Welcome, young lady," a raspy voice said. "See something you like?" Ami leapt back when she saw an old hag in gold and black silk robes. Silver rings covered her wrinkled fingers as did a huge silver necklace. The young mother-to-be stepped back when she said the gold in the old lady's teeth.

"Not really," she said. The old merchant took a smoke of her long pipe.

"Pity," she said. Ami frowned as her eyes moved back towards the book in the middle of the display.

"What is this?" she asked. The old lady blew at smoke as she looked down at the book.

"Ah," she said. "My Book of Amida is not for sale." Ami sneered as she reached out to touch it.

"Don't want it anyway," she muttered under her breath.

"You mustn't do that, dear," the hag said as she eyed Ami's pregnant belly. The heiress's fingertips touched the giant skull with ruby eyes. Whispers of death filled her ears. Suddenly, she screamed as it felt like her baby was clawing at her womb.

"Oh god!" she screamed. The old lady dropped her pipe.

"Miss! Are you okay?" she asked. Ami could barely hear her voice. She turned and ran down the path. Ami's eyes darted around the place. The people in the crowd looked like ghouls with razor-sharp teeth and dead eyes. Their laughter and muzzled voices made her head spin. Sure, they may have been shopping and talking like normal to a sane person, but the teenaged girl felt like she was walking through a feast in Hell. One mother looked like she was about to eat her newborn baby that she held in her arms. Two blacksmiths' hammers made a sound that made Ami want to scream. The children running towards her looked like miniature devils in masks swinging paper lanterns around. Ami panted as the pain grew worse. It felt like her unborn child was trying to crawl its way out of her belly. The teenaged mother-to-be looked around, frantic. _Help me! Help me!_ Ami looked up and saw a staple of a church up ahead. Before she knew, the pregnant teenaged girl ran through the crowd, clutching her stomach as her baby's clawing grew worse. She fell to her knees, panting.

 _Help me. Help me!_ Just as mysterious as it started, the pain in her womb stopped. Ami removed her hands from her stomach and looked around. Judging by the broken and moss-covered headstones around her, she realized that she was sitting in a graveyard. She put her hand to her forehead and took a deep breath. _What was that?_

"Ami!" someone shouted. The teenaged mother-to-be looked up to see Lavi running towards her. He stopped to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I think so," Ami said. Her boyfriend pulled her to her feet.

"What happened to you?"

"I don't know. I just touched that stupid book and it felt like that kid was trying to claw its way out of me."

"Do you want to go the hospital?"

"Alright." She let her boyfriend walk her out of the graveyard to the hospital down the street. Ami just wanted to pass out right there in his arms.


	9. Hell

Key Eight: Hell:

-Fallen City-

When the party died down again, Marion snuck in and took Alma back to their room. Allen waited by the door.

"How is she?" he asked. Marion shook her head.

"Not good," she said. "They did serious hell on her." Marion laid her dear friend down onto the mattress. The sight of Alma made Allen's stomach drop. Her eyes looked so empty. Alma didn't seem to be breathing either. The male angel shuddered as he remembered how Ophelia turned out after she was raped. Marion pushed Allen aside.

"I'm going to need you to back up," she said. The other angel tilted his head.

"Why? What are you going to do?" he asked.

"What else? I'm going to bring us back to us."

Allen narrowed his eyes. "Bring her back?" Marion ignored him as she held her hands over the catatonic angel. _Alma. Can you hear me? Come back to us. Alma! Come back to us now._ Allen watched as Alma's body began to glow a light white. The angel coughed and her body jumped with a jolt. She sat up and looked around.

"Alma?" Marion asked. Her dear friend turned to face her.

"Mari-on?" she asked. Marion's heart did a little flip in her chest.

"Oh good," she said. Allen crawled forward with wide eyes.

"How did you do that?" he asked. Marion sat back, catching her breath.

"It's just a basic skill that I had when I first became an angel," she said. "Whenever I see an angel trapped within their mind, I reach out to them and pull them back."

"Just like that?"

"Well, they have to be before a certain point before they are lost."

"I see." It didn't take long for an idea to form in Allen's head. He turned his attention to Marion. "There is someone else I want you to bring back." Marion turned her head.

"What?"

Allen pressed his lips together in hopes of selling this. "I need you to bring back a friend of mine."

Marion tilted her head. "Why?"

Male angel lowered his eyes. "I made a promise to her."

"Let me guess, take her out of the city?"

"I have to get us out of here!"

"You're _still_ going on about that bullshit?"

"I have to get out of here! I'm going to find a way to get Ophelia better, get out of this tower, find our friends, and get out of this city!" Allen grabbed her by her hands. "I can take you and Alma out of here as well." Marion all but laughed.

"What?" Allen asked.

"You are out of your mind!" Marion said.

"At least help my friend?"

The other angel sighed and rolled her eyes. "Will you shut up afterwards?" Allen nodded like an innocent puppy. Marion puffed up her cheeks.

"Fine," she muttered. The angel turned back to her dear friend. "Are you going to be fine on your own for the time being?"

"Yes," Alma said in a small voice. Marion turned back to Allen.

"Take me to this friend," she said. Allen rose to his feet and walked down out the room. Marion stood up and shook her head. _Idiot!_ She followed him out the door.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ophelia looked at the black clouds swirling around her. _Where… am I?_


	10. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the Halloween special of Wasteland 2011! I went for broke on this one! Here are some quick notes to prevent confusion during reading:
> 
> Hetalia/Tea Leaves: Ju, Yao, Qian, Junjie, Gana, Snake, Szu, and Jia Long
> 
> Durarara/Wonderland: Mikado, Masaomi, Shirley, Chiharu, Noriko, Keiichi, Kurumi, Mairu, Mari and Aoba
> 
> D.Gray-Man/Dying Dream: Ophelia

Key Nine: Winter:

Ophelia could only see an endless sea of black. Her body float in the emptiness. The only thing company was the judgmental voices around her, screaming at her.

Slut!

Tart!

Whore!

Murderer!

Whore!

Whore!

However below her, she heard different voices that did little to ease her nerves.

* * *

December 23rd, 2013.

Zhong Junjie sat in a noodle bar having a late dinner. Tonight was a rather slow night. For weeks, his father nagged him about getting married some.

"You are twenty-four years old!" his old man said. "You can't be fooling around and doing useless crap anymore! Get married and live up to the family name!" Junjie frowned and rolled his eyes. _Stupid old man!_ He stuck up his hand in the air.

"Oi!" he shouted. "I want a doggie bag!"

"Coming up!" the cook shouted back. Thinking about his father made Junjie lose his appetite. He didn't feel doing much anymore and he didn't want to go home either. The cook walked over to his table.

"Here you are," he said. Junjie paid for his dinner and walked out of the restaurant.

"Hey, Zhong," the cook spoke up. "What happened to that pretty little thing you were always with?" Junjie rolled his eyes and walked out the door.

* * *

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley stood backstage of the main part of Red Bunny. She waited with bated breath in her black suit. Keiichi went over the plan with her before she left the house.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked at their apartment. "You can back out of it if you want." Shirley shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I can do this." Keiichi pressed his forehead against hers.

"Please be careful," he told her. Shirley nodded.

"I will," she said back. Sliver Dreamer waited for the MC to call her up on stage tonight.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mairu turned to her sister.

"Kurumi-chan!" she said. Her sister looked up from the TV. Mairu came within inches of her face, grinning.

"You know what we should do?" She didn't even wait for her twin to answer. "We should sleep with Aoba-kun. I bet he's virgin." Kurumi broke into a little smile. That alone told Mairu that she was keen on the plan.

"I'll call him," she said. The younger twin got on her phone and called up Aoba.

* * *

Mikado had his earbuds in as he lay on his futon. This would be the fifteenth time that he had heard these tapes. This time, he was looking for something in particular. Tape number sixty-four sounded low if you didn't know what you were looking for. Mikado tried to focus on through the muzzled silence on the tape.

"Untie me."

There it was. That small message, only two words, made Mikado sit up every time. He tried to figure out the identity of the speaker. From what Mikado could gather, this was probably a young woman tied up in Chou Mori Institution. She could be a potential victim in the Angel Project. He rewound the tape and took another listen.

"Untie me."

This one mystery was driving him crazy. It didn't help that he didn't have all of the tapes. His friends had some of the audio tapes just like he had some of their memory sticks and said tapes. He figured it was about time to another exchange to have a full picture of Chou Mori Institution and "Angel Tadpole Heaven".

* * *

-Beijing-

Outside of the noodle bar, Wang Jia Long stepped towards Junjie to ask him for directions. When he opened his mouth to speak, Junjie shoved his leftover dinner in the Hong Kong man's hand. Jia Long gave him a rather confused looked as the spoiled heir walked away.

Junjie continued his walk down the empty street. He didn't want to get home just yet, but he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. Thinking about his dad kill whatever good mood he had. Suddenly, a black van pulled up and stopped in the middle of the road. Four men in black climbed out and trailed the bratty heir.

"Oi!" their big, bald-headed leader shouted. They followed Junjie before he stopped and turned around. Just by the looks on the men's faces, he started to freak out. His first thought was that they were drug dealers coming to collect on the money that he had stiffed them over months ago.

"Gentlemen, lovely to see you," he said. "Anything I can do for you tonight?" The leader in the black hoodie walked closer. The spoiled heir gulped.

"The money is on its way, I promise," he said. "I just need to get some…" The men in black glared daggers. Right off the bat, Junjie saw that talking to them wasn't going to work. It got worse when the leader was inches away from him.

"No, no," the heir tried pleading with them. But the leader punched him right in the face. Once Junjie hit the ground, the other three men pounded him and began punching him. The heir struggled to escape as the men dragged him across the street.

* * *

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley walked out onto the glittered stage of the Red Rabbit. The plan was for her to be a decoy while Keiichi gathered evidence of the club's abuse and enslavement of the missing women are the city. She volunteered to do her part. Her potential boyfriend had reservations about this.

"I want to help you," Shirley insisted three days ago.

"It's too risky," Keiichi said. "I can't involve you with them any further."

She grabbed him by the arm. "I want to do this. Please?"

In the end, he finally let her help him out. Tonight, Shirley took a deep breath. _I will not fail you, Keiichi-kun._ She took the microphone and began to sing. The club rained red and green glitter as the cocktail waitress were sexy Santas. On the surface, everything looked normal. The girls served drinks, sat with the patrons, and flirted with them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Keiichi used his VIP pass to gain entry into the backway. Nanami, Shirley, and the other victims were counting on him to carry out Arisu's work and save them. He looked around in the hall. Hearing Shirley's sweet voice through the speakers gave him the courage to execute his plan. _I can do this_ , he thought. Keiichi reached into his bag and pulled out his equipment.

* * *

At the Orihara apartment, the twins were waiting by the door when it buzzed. Mairu opened the door.

"Hiya!" she said. Aoba blinked as he used her grinning like a cat and Kurumi smiling.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"We just wanted to give you your Christmas present early," Mairu said.

"Okay… where is it?" Instead of an answer, the twins grabbed him by the wrists and pulled him inside. The door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

Back at Rampo Biotech, Mari sat at the main computer typing away in the basement. This super machine ran so hot that the room had to be kept below zero in temperature. Mari shivered as she typed out the latest code for the latest program. Her fingers were sore and numb as they moved across the laptop. She would've rather been home in bed instead of furthering her mother's twisted ambition on their project on unpaid overtime.

 _We can't keep doing this._ Too bad her mother, the boss, everyone else in Tandeki wouldn't listen.

* * *

-Beijing-

Szu was only fifteen years old. She had only met Junjie once. He asked her for directions to get to a certain bar that escapes his name at the time.

"Excuse me," he said. "Do you know how to get to this address?" He handed the girl a sheet of paper. Szu and her friends read over the sheet.

"I know where it is," she said. The girl tried her best to get him the right directions, but he only pretended to be listening. He kept his eyes on her the whole time like he hadn't eaten in days. Her friends took baby steps backwards. Junjie had other things on his mind. Most of them involved Szu. He would just have to have her.

"Was that helpful?" Szu asked at last.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "Thank you, so much." They bowed and parted ways. That wouldn't be the end of it, however.

He trailed her back to her house. It didn't matter if she wanted him or not. Junjie only saw her as the flavor for the night. To him, girls were just his toys to fuck. If they didn't want him, too bad! He was going to have her whether she wanted it or not.

* * *

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley's voice had so much woeful soul in it tonight. The men had their eyes glued on her as they took their drinks. One of the cocktail waitresses sat with a patron as he pulled her in closer. He turned her face for a kiss.

In the mood of the song, Shirley began to dance. The colored lights spun around the room. She needed to go for broke with this performance for Keiichi. The goddess reached behind her head and unpinned her long light brown hair and shook it lose as the music began to rise. Shirley undid her tie and threw it aside. After flipping back her hair, her blazer and shirt hit the floor. Eyes were fixed unto her lacy black bra.

* * *

Chiharu sat at her laptop watching another video on the memory card. Like Mikado, she too was looking for something. In fact, it was Mikado who exchanged this card for five of the audio tapes she had in her box.

"I really think you need to see this," Mikado told her last night. Judging by the tone of his voice, this had to be urgent.

"Okay, thanks," Chiharu said. Once she was sure that she was home alone, the girl hit play on her laptop. On this clip, a woman about nineteen or twenty years sat on the floor chained to the wall by her ankle. Her rapid breathing made her sound animalistic. Nothing in her empty eyes suggested any trace of humanity. She was naked except for a collar around her neck.

A man in a white lab coat walked into the frame with a tape recorder in his hand. Chiharu raised an eyebrow. _What is this?_ The man reached down and pat the girl on the head.

"This is Day Forty-Seven of Project Angel," the man spoke into the recorder. "Subject F has grown more stable once we fed her the human remains of three failed test subjects. It seems that in order to survive, these angels need to consume human flesh. My team and I have not looked into why this is so yet." The man turned and lifted Subject F's head. Chiharu's jaw dropped.

 _Is that… me?_ She grabbed her phone and typed, "Mikado, what the hell did you just give me? Who is this girl in the clip?" Chiharu hit send. Against her better judgement, she resumed watching the rest of the clip.

* * *

Meanwhile, Noriko sat on her living room floor trapped in her own turmoil. Her memories felt scattered up in her head. She looked at her right arm. There used to be horizontal scars going down her arm. Noriko remembered cutting herself with the urge to die. They couldn't be false memories, felt too real.

Despite putting on an actress-worthy performance at school, her friends could tell this was happening again. She overheard Mikado and Masaomi talking last week at school.

"It's happening again," Mikado said in a hushed tone.

"Do you mean…?" Masaomi began to ask. He shook his head, frowning. "No…"

"Yes, I don't know how long before she begins to lose it again."

"Has she started…?" The blonde moved his right hand in back and forth motion above his left arm as if cutting himself.

"No, not yet."

"How can you tell?"

"I kind of looked at her arms when she rolled up her sleeves to clean the floor today. She's still eating too."

"That's good," Masaomi said. Hearing them say those things only confirmed what Noriko feared. _Even they know I'm not imagining it._

She drew her knees to her chest. Noriko lifted her head when she heard her cell phone ring. Her hand crept over and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"Ishikawa-chan, are you okay? You sound worried about something?" Mikado asked. Noriko about fell backwards as she shook her head.

"Worried?" she asked. "No, no! I'm fine! Why would you say that?"

"Listen, we all need to talk. Can we meet at your place?"

"What for?"

"We'll talk when we get there." Mikado hung up before she could speak. Noriko's stomach turned as she stared at her phone. She hoped it would be that…

* * *

-Beijing-

The bald-headed leader, only known in the underground as Snake, punched Junjie on the ground. The heir's arms flailed about as the other three men punched him on the ground.

"Come on!" one of them yelled before stomping him in the face. Junjie tried to bite at one of the one guys as the held him down for the beating. He finally managed to break away and hold out his arms as if challenging them to fight. The spoiled heir punched one of Snake's goons in the face before running away. The men in black gave chase down the alley.

* * *

Later on that night, Szu put the key into the lock. He watched her from the bushes across in the Liao clan's garden. Ever since that brief encounter just last week, he watched her in his obsession. He timed everything down to their second encounter. Up to this point, no day felt right for him. Szu was never really alone. Tonight, her parents weren't home and her friends didn't accompany her. He licked his lips as he watched her open the door from inside.

_Perfect!_

Szu reached over to turn on the living room light. Before her fingers touched the switch, a heavy hand grabbed her onto her wrist. Another hand covered her mouth as she forced to the ground. Her eyes darted around in panic. She couldn't see Junjie's face.

"Please let me go!" she begged. "I can give you money, if you want." The big hand smacked her across her face. Junjie growled something to the effect of threating to have her friends murdered if she ever went to the police, but fear kept her from understanding what he was saying. Szu whimpered as he ripped open her blouse.

"Please let me go," she pleaded. "I won't tell anyone, I promise." His hand covered her mouth as he ripped off her pantyhose's. He pushed apart her thighs and broke her. Thrust after thrust tore her up inside as tears began streaming down her cheeks. He wanted her to know that he had her and loved it. Junjie broke her and ended it with a kiss. Szu lay there with wide, empty eyes and crushed soul. He smirked as his obsession was fulfilled.

"Good night," he hissed. Szu didn't move a muscle as she heard him walk out the door.

* * *

\- Ikebukuro-

Shirley fell back on the stage, crying out. As she got deeper into the song, tears streamed down her face as she writhed around in pain in her dancing. It felt as if someone was beating her up. During while, Keiichi worked to set up mini cameras around the secret rooms. He didn't slow down for a rest. The public had to know the truth.

 _You're doing good, Shirley. Keep it up, I'm just about done on my end._ Keiichi walked further down the hall.

* * *

Hentai made sex look so much easier. Mairu and Kurumi were learning this the hard way as they were looking up sexual positions for a three-way with two girls and a guy on the internet. Aoba sat on their naked and waiting. The twins were only in their panties.

"I can't find anything on here," Mairu complained.

"How about this one?" Kurumi asked, pointing to the screen. Mairu looked at the picture and frowned.

"My butt would be in his face," she complained. They would have all night to figure it out.

* * *

-Beijing-

Three months after Szu was assaulted, Qian took matters into his own hands when Ju and Yao were dragging their feet on the issue. He turned to his secret DJ friend, Gang, for help. Qian even went as far as to pay him 1,280.72 yuan for the job.

Gang took that money and added about 3158.20 yuan when he spoke with Snake in his garage. The secret hitman counted the money as Gang explained the problem.

"You in?" he asked at last. Because Snake despised Junjie just like everyone else did, he nodded. Gang smiled.

"One more thing," he said. "Don't get too happy. I don't want too much attention. My old man works in morgue."

"Yes, yes," Snake said.

* * *

Snake slammed Junjie against a brick wall in alley and punched a good ten times. He kneed the spoiled heir in the stomach before throwing him back on the ground. He stomped him right in the chest before him and his boys kicked punched him. Junjie tried in vain to shield himself as the beating grew more serve.

When they were done, the three goons ran off, but Snake stood over a beaten Junjie and smirked.

"That was for her!" he shouted. The hitman spat on the target before walking away. Junjie pulled himself onto his knees and broke down sobbing.

* * *

-Ikebukuro-

As the music got more intense, Shirley lay on the stage, screaming. At one point, her body jumped as if someone had stomped her in the chest. She rolled on the floor screaming. Somehow, the men in the audience enjoyed the show. When she rose to her feet, Shirley tore down the thin silver streamers behind her. At the end of the song, she sank down to her knees in tears. _How did I do, Keiichi-kun? Did I do great? Please praise me._

Keiichi installed the last camera in the main office. He stood back, smiling. _There, that should do it._ The journalist student turned on the cameras with his cell phone and walked out. He would pick up Shirley when the show was over.

When Mari was finished typing the code, she got up and walked out of the room. That should keep her group happy for the time being.

As Aoba and the twins slept from there threesome last night, Mikado and his friends met in the streets at sunrise. Nobody slept for the whole night.

* * *

-Beijing-

From one of the apartment buildings above, Gang watched the whole show. When it was over, he pulled out his phone and wrote, "It's done." He smirked as he hit send.

* * *

In the distance, someone was calling out to Ophelia.


	11. Pet

Key Ten: Pet:

-Ophelia's Hell-

The angel wandered around the empty space. The cold, empty eyes glaring at her made her stomach turn in knots. They had the same conclusion about her.

"Whore! Whore! Whore!"

She had used to being called that. However, something about their voices cut her in a way that she didn't think was possible. Ophelia grabbed onto her right arm. More eyes focused on her as she walked. The ground felt like sharp knives at her feet. The taunting grew worse.

"Slut!"

"I bet you would do it with any man for money!"

Ophelia turned her head. "That isn't true! I had to do what I had to do!"

"So you admit it?"

"It's not like that! I needed the money!"

"Greedy whore!"

"She even killed her own children for money!"

"Murderer! Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

Ophelia shook her head. "I had no choice. My babies would've had a misery life with me. I just wanted to spare them from the evils of this world!"

"Liar!"

"Murderer!"

"Whore!"

"It's not like that!"

"Liar!"

"Liar!"

"Whore!"

"Murderer!"

"Murderer!"

Ophelia covered her ears and began running away. The taunting and pain at her feet only intensified. _You don't understand! It wasn't like that! I had no choice! I had no choice!_

* * *

-Outside-

Road arrived at Tykki's door and knocked with a smile.

"Tykki!" she shouted, "I'm here to pick up my little pet!" Road backed up when the door opened. The doctor looked as if he had woken up with his cigarette drooping out of his mouth.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I'm here to pick up my little pet," Road said. "I ordered him on the phone three days ago." Tykki pushed back his hair.

"Oh yes," he said. "Come inside." Road followed the doctor into his office. Tykki pulled down a big jar. Road broke into a huge grin as she looked at the giant deep red caterpillar squirming around inside.

"Is this what you want?" Tykki asked.

"Perfect," his niece said. "How much for him?"

"Twenty pages from your notebook," he said. Road pulled out her notebook and ripped out twenty blank pages. The doctor examined each one.

"Can you guarantee me that you will use him properly?" he asked.

"Yes," Road said. The doctor looked deep into her eyes. Once he had his answer, Tykki slid the jar towards his niece.

"You take him and have good day," he said.

"Thank you," Road said. She took the jar and walked out of the doctor's office, grinning.


	12. Schadenfreude

Key Eleven: Schadenfreude:

The city is rotten. Its source comes from the mighty tower. Paradise reeks of rot the worst. Healthy sexual pleasure does not exist in Paradise. The angels are used in the most depraved ways.

Sex isn't the only things that the monsters feed off of. Their strongest high comes from the angels' suffering. The spilled blood tasted sweeter than caramel raining down from Heaven. Paradise was born to deal with the Tower's problem of overcrowding. Some of the female angels still managed to look attractive. It would be such a shame if they weren't put to good use.

Already, the male monsters had their own ideas. Some even started acting on them in their own chambers. The problem arose when some wanted to abuse their neighbor's angels. Many fights broke out in the tower. Such chaos was not needed to run this Fallen City. It sounded painful, but a little bit of order was needed to appease the hunger and fighting of the monsters.

To everyone's surprise, it was Jasdevi who came up with the idea for Paradise in the first place. They were perceived as scatter-brained even after the Great Crash. How would they even pull this off? How could they even get most of the resistant angels to submit to their much-desired cruel games? The naysayers ended up being blown away as they had learned that the twins had been plotting this for quite some time.

The twins wasted no time acquiring the space. After all, who was using the seventh floor anyway? After a little redecoration of the rooms, Paradise started to take shape. The prettier angels soon filled up the giant golden glitter cages. But how to subdue them for the fun part? Jasdevi didn't have to go far into roping Tyki into their scheme.

"Why would I want to be involved in something so tacky?" he asked.

"It'll be fun," Devit said. "We just want to use some of your drugs on the toys."

"Please?" Jasdero asked.

"And what would I get out of this?" Tyki asked. The twins broke into a huge grin.

"Come look!" they said. Jasdevi dragged the doctor from his office. They snickered through the whole elevator to Paradise. Tyki wasn't impressed when he first saw Paradise in progress. After the "grand tour", so to speak, Tyki begrudgingly warmed up to the idea.

"Any ideas?" Devit asked the "good" doctor. Tyki glanced at them with a poker face.

"I have something," he replied. "Never tried it out, but if you imbeciles can pull off something like this, you might be able to make it work." The twins grinned with V-signs shoved in the doctor's face. Tyki rolled his eyes. _Anything to shut them up_ , he thought.

Today, Paradise is a monster filled with depraved rot and poison. Allen Walker has only begun to see how low these monsters can go with these angels.


	13. Lavi

Key Eleven: Lavi:

-Living Realm-

Lavi leaned back in a chair in the waiting room. He walked Ami to the local clinic to examine their unborn child. An hour earlier, she fled from the outdoor market with holding her stomach. She wouldn't tell him what happened. He buried his face in his hands.

_You can't stay with her, you know._

The red-haired angel frowned. _Do you have to talk to me in my head like this, you old Panda?_

_It's the only way to get your attention._

_I know I can't stay with her. You keep saying the same thing over and over._

_This time I really mean it._

Lavi puffed up his cheeks. _What is it now?_

_I had a dream last night._

_Oh?_

_This child will bring our ruin._

Lavi sat up, looking pale. _What do you mean?_

_I saw fire consuming Heaven. All of the angels fell into the Fallen City. This disaster will be worse than the Great Crash._

_That can't be right. The Great Crash couldn't do any more damage than it had to Asia all those years ago._

_But it is. This child's birth will open the gates to the Land of the Dead once again._

Lavi's stomach dropped. _You can't be serious._ He remembered hearing the horror stories of how the Land of the Dead opened up the first time wiped Ikebukuro off the map. The poison didn't stop there. Most of Japan ended up being swallowed whole in the Wasteland. A small number of cities managed to recover. Japan and possibly the rest of the world couldn't handle another calling card from the Wasteland itself.

_I wish I could be wrong. But this dream just feels too real._

_And you think my child is at the center of all of this?_

_You must not think of this child as your own. It will be a complete stranger to you._

Lavi frowned and puffed up his cheeks. _Yeah, yeah._

* * *

"How is it?" Ami asked in the doctor's office. The OBGYN broke into a huge smile.

"Your baby is fine," she said. "I don't exactly know how to answer your questions about what you described happened earlier. The scan came up clear now."

Ami nodded. "Okay…"

"How you had any stress in your home life lately?"

The spoiled heir frowned with a cold look in her eyes. "If you count my grandmother being a bitch towards me and my boyfriend's grandpa giving me judgmental eyes, then yes I am stressed at home."

The OBGYN nervously chuckled before she cleared her throat. "Anyway, just come back in a month to do a follow-up."

"Okay." Ami bowed in the doorway. "Goodbye." She turned and walked away.

* * *

Lavi looked up when he heard the door open. Ami stood looking rather stoic.

"How's the baby?" he asked.

"Fine," she said. "The baby's fine." Her boyfriend exhaled.

"Good." He rose to his feet. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm tired. Take me home."

"Yes, ma'am." Lavi led her out of the clinic. Despite the unease he felt, he grabbed her onto her hand. He tried to cuddle up to her, but Ami pushed him off.


	14. L'enfer

Key Twelve: L'enfer:

-Ophelia's Hell-

Her hell took shape in a short amount of time. The cobblestone streets felt like knives at her feet. No matter how far she walked, every place looked the same. She felt so cold every night. The streets walked on end seemed to end. Every person looked at her with harsh, judgmental eyes. Ophelia could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

"Whore!"

Her clothes tonight didn't help her case either. The wind blowing against her black fishnet stockings felt like needles sticking into her thighs. The equally black stiletto heels made her feet hurt worse. Ophelia couldn't understand why she would choose to wear a black miniskirt and dark red corset top tonight.

_I just want to home._

However, she knew that wasn't possible anymore. Where was home? It probably got wiped off the map just like Ikebukuro did. So why was she still walking the streets for her next john? There was no one for her to send money back to anymore. Her mother probably wouldn't accept it if she knew how her mother made her money.

"No daughter of my is going to be a whore!" she could hear mother saying.

"Whore!"

"Whore!"

"Whore!"

Whore. Ophelia should've been used to such an ugly word by now. But in this place, it still hurt her like getting stabbed in the chest repeatedly.

-Outside-

Allen poked his head out into the hallway. He held his breath as he looked around.

"All clear," he whispered. The male angel led Marion and Alma out of Paradise's main room. Marion looked behind her.

"You sure about this?" she asked.

"Yes," he said.

"Do you even know where you are going?"

"Not really?" Allen turned his head when he heard Marion sighing. "What?"

"You are hopeless," she said.

"Hey, I was kept in Road's room for months!"

"Oh, great! If you lead the way, we'll run into some bored monsters."

"It'll be fine."

"Not with you leading the way."

"Excuse me," Alma said in a small voice. "I could probably locate her." Allen dashed over to the biracial angel.

"Really? How?" he asked. Alma pressed her lips together.

"When I was trapped in my hell, I could hear where your friend was," she said.

"Your hell?"

"Long story, but I know where your friend is."

"Where?"

"Follow me." Alma grabbed Allen and Marion by the hands and closed her eyes. In a flash, the three angels disappeared.

Allen, Marion, and Alma appeared in a darkened room. To Allen's surprise, it felt rather warm. He could've sworn that they had teleported into a sauna. The walls alone gave off a claustrophobic feeling. He looked around at the room with no windows or vents. All of the dim lights hung over their heads from the high ceiling. Rows of beds lined the walls on either side of them. Angels lay on their backs in a catatonic state, staring at the ceiling in a daze. Thick white sheets covered up to their necks. Allen's eyes shifted left and right.

"Where are we?" he asked. Alma and Marion looked down at her feet.

"This where they store angels that are trapped in their hell," Alma said.

"Oh…" Allen said in a low voice. He pressed his lips together. "Where's Ophelia?" Alma led her companions down the narrow pathway to the end of the row on their left. Allen covered his gaped mouth as they found Ophelia laying in her bed still in a catatonic state with a sheet up to her neck. Marion frowned.

"Is this your friend?" she asked.

"Yes," Allen said. The brash angel shook her head.

"She's a goner," Marion said.

Allen looked at her with big eyes. "No…"

"If we act now, we can move her and stuff her a tank in the basement. No one will notice a thing."

"You can't! You must help her!"

Marion put her hands on her hips. "Why should I?"

Allen dropped his shoulders. "I made a promise to get her out of the city."

The brash angel sighed and rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't have done that."

"She saved me from being attacked. Please? You have to help her." Allen looked at her with big sweet puppy dog eyes. Marion gritted her teeth as she stared him down.

"You are a thorn in my ass," she grumbled. Marion turned to Ophelia in bed. "I will see what I can do."

Allen felt like flying through the ceiling. "Thank you so much!" Marion sneered as Allen bowed.

"Whatever," she said under her breath. Marion held her hands over Ophelia's body. _Can you hear me, Ophelia? Come back to us._


	15. Monsters

Key Thirteen: Monsters:

Thirty minutes later, Marion drew back. Allen started at her, intently.

"Well?" he asked.

"She's still there," Marion said. "Your friend can be brought back." Allen noticed a hint of worry on her face.

"But…?" he asked. The female angel dropped her shoulders.

"I myself can't bring her out of her hell," she said. Allen gave her a strange look.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"To bring somebody back, somebody close to them has to go into their hell and pull them out," Marion explained. The male angel blinked as he pointed to his chest.

"So… I have to…?"

"Yes."

"How do I do that?"

Marion turned back to Ophelia's cationic body. "Grab my shoulder." Allen reached forward a grabbed onto her right shoulder.

"Good," the female angel said. "Focus your energy through my mind."

"Right," Allen said. Marion closed her eyes and chanted her spell. Allen felt a thick chill run through his body before sinking through and black hole.

* * *

Allen opened his eyes when he smelt perfumed rotting fish. The clouds were a swirled dark purple. He shivered when the hard winds touched his skin. It felt like he was standing on knives in the pavement. Allen's stomach turned as he looked around.

"Where am I?" he asked.

_You're in Ophelia's hell._

"Marion?" Allen asked.

_You don't have much time. If you stay in a foreign for too long, you will be trapped their forever._

"Okay."

_I will guide you back when your time is about up._

"How do I find Ophelia?"

_Can you feel her?_

Allen put his hands to his chest and closed his eyes. At first, he heard a chorus of women chanting, "whore, whore, whore." He tried to focus through their voices. After seconds passed, he heard a familiar voice weeping.

"I hear her!" he cried, opening his eyes. "She's in deep pain!"

_Follow her weeping. You will find your friend there._

"I understand," Allen said. He ran down the thick cobblestone path. As he ran, the angel took in this city around him. The shops looked like the faces of monster looking for unsuspecting to gobble up. Rubbish ran on either side of him like dead fish floating on a river. The road felt longer that it actually was. The people walking by him looked like shadowy stick figure acting a normal day. Still, Allen couldn't help but get the feeling of déjà vu.

He wondered, _where have I seen this city before?_ Allen tried to ignore the winds blowing the "whore" chant in his ears. When he feet touched a crumbling Seine, the pain shot through his feet. Boats and traffic were non-existent around him. There were no animals around either. Only the smell of perfumed rotting fish remained. As he ran, Allen tried to guess exactly what this city was supposed to be. He only got his answer when looked to the sky and saw supposedly the Eiffel Tower leaning like the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. The once majestic building looked like it would collapse at any second. It was then Allen remembered hearing the faint traces of an accent in Ophelia's voice when she spoke. When he remembered her confession before Road caught them, it all began to make sense.

"Oh, so this is what your Hell is," he said.

Allen stopped running when he small a dark pink monster head-looking building with flashing neon lights. The sign above read, Maîtresse Maison de Mauvaise Reputation. This was where he felt Ophelia's pain the worst.


	16. Arrangement

Key Fifteen: Arrangement:

-Back in Tower-

Road knocked on Tykki's door. The doctor opened up and rubbed his eyes.

"What is it?" he asked. Road broke into an innocent-looking smile.

"I have another favor to ask you," she said. Her uncle had a dull, tired look in his eyes.

"Come inside," he said. Road followed him into the doctor's office.

* * *

"What is it that you want?" Tykki asked as he took a seat at his desk. Road sat on the other with a serious look on her face.

"I'm going to need you to perform a slight operation on Christmas," she said.

"For what?"

"I think it is time to make Allen fully mine."

Tykki narrowed her eyes. "What exactly do want done to him?"

"You know what I want."

His stoic facial expression didn't change. "I have never tried that transfusion on an angel before."

"But you can do it, right?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Can it be done by Christmas?"

"And why would you want it done by then?"

Road's lips curve into a smile. "Because… I want to give it to him as a little birthday present."

A little bit of interest sparked in Tykki's eyes. It didn't take him long to see where this plan was going. The doctor knew that his niece was twisted, but this request just showed how far she would go to break Allen into her ideal pet. Road kept her eyes focused on him.

"Can you perform the operation?" she asked. Tykki put in a fresh cigarette in his mouth.

"Under one condition," he said. Road raised an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked.

"You have to put it inside yourself. I will just cut him open and sew him back up. That is the only way I'll do it. Do we have an agreement?"

His niece smirked. "We have a deal."

"We have a deal." He and his niece shook hands before Road walked out the door.

* * *

Back in Ophelia's Hell…


	17. Whore

Key Sixteen: Whore:

Allen walked up to the pink glass doors of Maîtresse Maison de Mauvaise Reputation. From the outside, this building looked prettier than the monster-like shops and houses on the street. Allen reached forward and touched the glass. He jumped back, yelping.

"That's cold!" the angel shouted. It was like that chill of touching the outside of the tower in the Fallen City. He looked around for another way into the building. It was then he noticed a small gold doorbell right in front of him. A small yellow note was posted above it.

"Ring the bell?" Allen read. He shrugged his shoulders rather confused. _Okay then…_ The angel rang the bell. A sharp buzz filled the air.

"Good morning!" a flirty French voice filled the air. "Welcome to Maîtresse Maison de Mauvaise Reputation! How may we entertain you today?" Allen found the woman's tone off-putting. He even laughed nervously.

"Uh… I'm looking for a woman," he said.

"Ooo! Anyone in particular?" the woman asked.

"Is my friend here?" To his surprise, the pink glass slid open. Confused, Allen wandered inside. At the front desk stood a woman with her saggy breasts exposed. The sight of her repulsed him. This woman had a human face but a giant yellow and purple caterpillar body. On either side of her were four long black spider legs. Her human didn't help her appearance too much either. Her wrinkles made her look like a bull dog. She puffed on a long cigarette with her fat lips.

"You rang?" she asked. Allen tried not to look at her face.

"I'm looking for a woman named Ophelia," he said, swallowing down the need to throw up. "Is she here?" The woman's teeth looked black and rotted as she grinned.

"Ah, yes. She's here," she said.

"Where is she?" Allen asked.

"In her room," the woman, he assumed to be a madame, said. "I'll ring her up to let her that you are coming." The madame pressed the gold button. "Ophelia, you have another john morning!" Allen stared at her with big eyes. _John?_ Still, arguing would probably waste his time. Probably be best to play along for the time being.

"Ophelia is quite popular among my girls," the madame said.

"I see," Allen said. The madam handed him a silver and pink key.

"Here you go," she said. "She's in room twenty-eight. Have fun with her." Her wink was enough to make Allen grab the key and run.

* * *

The perfume in the hallway wasn't as overpowering as the one in Paradise. Allen tried to stay focused on his mission through the loud moans behind closed doors.

_You don't have much time!_

Allen froze as he looked up. "Marion?"

_You have ten minutes left! Hurry up and find her!_

"I'm working on it!" Allen took off running down the hall. He clutched the key in his fist. _Hold on Ophelia, I will save you!_

Allen finally found room twenty-eight. He placed his hand on the door to catch his breath. The angel looked up and saw the number twenty-eight in shiny gold. Allen pressed his ear against the door. His heart sank at the silence inside, but he felt a small prick of relief. He still had work to do. Allen took the key and pushed it into the lock.

Ophelia's room was dark except for the candles lit on the floor. To his surprise, Allen couldn't smell anything. No perfume and the candles were unscented. Allen's eyes shifted left and right.

"Hello?" he whispered. "Ophelia? Are you in here?" Allen took slower steps into the dimly-lit room. Dried petals of possibly a rose lay scattered on the floor. The dirty walls were vacant. Not a single decoration made the room look more appealing. He could hear the sound of flowing water in the color.

"Ophelia?" the angel whispered. "Ophelia?"

"Who's there?" a tired voice croaked. Allen jumped back.

"Ophelia?" he asked. "Is that you? Where are you?"

"Over here," the tired voice whispered. Allen followed the sound to the other side of the room. A small window leaked more light into the room. Ophelia sat on a low bed like a queen. She only wore bright red negligee that complimented the white sheets she sat on. Despite looking cleaned up and little more feminine with longer hair, she was still very thin. Ophelia's short gown hung off of her twig-like frame. Her eyes looked so dull and empty behind her mask of make-up.

"Welcome," Ophelia said. "How may I pleasure you tonight?" Allen stared at her blankly.

"Don't you recognize me?" he asked. The female angel chuckled.

"Oh, you're one of those men?" she asked.

"Ophelia, it's me, Allen. I came here to get you."

"Where have I heard that one before?" The female angel lay back on the bed. Allen's heart sank. _She doesn't recognize me_ , he thought. _I don't know to do._

_Talk to her!_

Allen lifted his head. _What do you mean?_

_You don't have time! Just get through!_

He drew in a breath. "Okay…" His attention turned back to Ophelia. "Ophelia, you can't here come back with me. I promised you that I would take you out of the city. Don't you remember that?"

The other angel froze. "The city?"

"Yes," Allen said, nodding. "I was going to take you out of it with Harry, Tyrone, Kit, and Grace. Remember?"

Ophelia gave him a hurt little smile. "Oh, Allen, you are sure a good liar."

The light in his died. "What?"

"We failed. I might as well stay here where I am safer."

"How can you stay in a place like this?"

"This is all I know!" Ophelia broke down trembling. "Those monsters forced me here. How is the outside any different from here?"

Allen shook his head. "You can't truly believe that."

"I do!"

Allen walked over and sat down next to her on the bed. "I won't leave here without you."

"You'll be trapped here."

"I made a promise and I'm keeping it. I am getting you out of here one way or another!"

_Hurry up Allen, someone's coming!_

The angel grabbed Ophelia by the hand. "I know." He leaned into her ear. "We will escape from here, I promise." The other angel took his hand without knowing why or rather she could trust him or not.

Allen closed his eyes. _We're ready to go now._

 _Okay_ , Marion said back.

-Outside-

Allen came back with a jolt and Ophelia opened her eyes, gasping. Marion sank to her knees with her hand to her chest.

"Thank you, Marion," Allen said. The other angel nodded.

"Yeah," she said. Ophelia sat up in her bed. Allen walked over to her side.

"Are you okay, Ophelia?" he asked. His friend nodded.

"She'll take a while to heal," Marion said. The pair turned their focus on her. She slowly pulled herself to her feet.

"Those that have been in hell for a long time will need a long time for their bodies to heal," Marion said. Ophelia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"I see," Marion said. "You won't be able to speak for a little bit, but you seem to be alright. Ophelia closed her mouth and bowed her head.

"Oh, and what do have here?" a voice boomed. "You're all here in the right spot." The angels looked up and saw Road standing in the doorway, smirking.

"Nice of you to be in one spot," she said. "It saves me the trouble of hunting you down."


	18. Surgery

Key Seventeen: Surgery:

Road grinned at the big jar in her hand. "I knew you would try and pull another rebellion." She looked over at Allen across the room. He lay on his back naked and strapped down, spread eagle. Road tried to ignore the cold look she gave him.

"You brought this on yourself," she said. "So don't look at me like that."

"What do you plan to do with us now?" Allen asked. Road broke into snickering.

" _I'm_ not going to do anything to those sluts," Road said. "That's Jasdevi's problem. I don't care what happens to them. But you…" She turned around with the jar in her hands. Allen's eyes widened when he saw inside. A dark red creature that looked like a giant shrimp crawled against the glass. It opened and closed its mouth as it hadn't eaten in months. He could hear it hissing from across the room. Its antenna stood up as if it sensed Allen's presence. The whipping of its thin tail against the glass and the flashing of its tiny fangs when it opened its mouth did little to put the angel at ease.

"What is that?!" he asked.

"Oh, just a little friend called Aizen Myo-o," she said. "See? He likes you already." Her stayed fixed on the angel's exposed crotch. A bead of sweat ran down the side of Allen's head.

"I know I'm going to hate where this is going," he said. "But what are you going to do with that?"

"Aizen's looking a new home." Road caressed the cold glass. "You could say that he is the candiru's little brother."

That alone changed Allen's mood. "You don't have to do all of that! I promise I won't try to escape anymore. I'll even forget about this leaving the city!"

Road shook her head with a smirk. "Sorry, it doesn't work that way." She walked over to her strapped down pet. "Did I mention that he loves sex? Once Aizen gets in your blood, he'll take over your mind. Soon, you'll want nothing but sex. You'll make the perfect sex slave." The monster knelt down to eye-level at his crotch. With a smirk, she opened the jar. Tykki told her all that she needed to do for this procedure.

"Get it at the tip of the penis," he told her. "It will take once it smells blood."

"Do I get to name it?" Road asked.

"Yes, yes," he said. Right now, Road looked Allen in the eye.

"Happy birthday, Allen!" she said.

* * *

Allen broke into screaming as Aizen's head buried itself into his body. He had endured pain that Road inflicted on him for the past two years, but that was nothing compared to this. Every inch that Aizen pushed itself in was like getting stabbed in the groin with a cold knife. It didn't help that Road patted him on the head and kissed his forehead.

"It will all be over soon," she said. "This will bring us closer together." The middle going in was the worst part. Aizen's legs seem to attach to any blood vessel that it could step on. Allen's body thrashed around in his restraints. He happened to peek through his closed eyes and notice his mistress smiling and licking her lips. She clapped her hands when Aizen hit a main vein.

"It's killing me!" Allen screamed. "Take it out! Take it out of me!"

"Sorry, he likes his new home too much!" Road said. "You don't want to make Aizen sad, do you?"

"You're killing me!" Allen screamed. Tears ran down his cheeks. Aizen made the operation that much worse as the angel felt it biting around for some fresh blood to feed on. The whole operation took ten minutes, but it felt like it wouldn't end for Allen. When Road freed him from his restraints, her pet fell on the floor rolling around and screaming in lingering pain. When all of his strength was gone, Allen lay on the floor trembling and gasping. His mistress rolled him onto his back.

"Happy birthday, baby," she said. The monster kissed her crippled, worn out angel on the lips.

* * *

Tykki sat outside of the road observing the whole operation. This whole process had only been attempted once before and that angel didn't survive. He knew because he performed the surgery on a random angel years ago with the Earl in the very top of the Tower. In fact, that angel was so broken that ended up being fed to the others in the city. Tykki found himself amazed that Allen managed to survive after it took ten minutes for "Aizen" to enter his body. The doctor closed up his notebook.

 _Okay then, this should be interesting_ , he thought.


	19. Stacy

Key Eighteen: Stacy:

-Living Realm-

Lavi went out to go buy Ami a bottle of melon water. He leaned outside the wall of the convenient store and sighed.

"Damn it," he muttered. "Ami can be so demanding at times."

"Isn't she?" a female's voice asked. Lavi jerked his head upwards and looked to his right. A slender girl playing with her dirty blonde hair eyed with a cat-like smile. Her black mini-skirt was enough to cover her ass while her rocker tube top practically flashed her breasts and showed off her midriff. She held a wrapped ice pop in her other hand. Lavi frowned when he saw that gold chain around her neck.

"What are you doing here, Stacy?" he asked. The goth demon twirled her hair in her fingers.

"I'm just out," she said.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "And… how did you find me?"

"I sensed your innocence in the living realm."

Lavi frowned as he looked down at his hammer charm around his neck. The demon unwrapped a rainbow-colored ice pop and put it in her mouth. Lavi turned his head away when she pretty much started to fellatio the ice pop.

"Why do you always do that around me?" he asked. Stacy glanced up at him, batting her eyelashes.

"Jealous?" she asked.

"I have a girlfriend," he said.

"So I've seen."

"You've been stalking me?" His eyes looked so cold as he glared at her. Stacy pulled out her cold treat with a pop.

"Only for the past couple of days," she said. "My, you have been quite a busy boy. How far along is your girlfriend?" Lavi gritted his teeth.

"Three months," he said. Stacy made a cute little baby face at him.

"Aw, why so sour?" she asked. "Isn't a happy time for you?"

"No!"

"What do you mean?" To hear this demon woman speak was like Lavi wishing physical pain upon himself. It took his all not to strangle her. Instead, Lavi snorted.

"Take a guess!" the angel growled. Stacy pretended to think as she sucked on her ice pop. The brown-looking juices ran down the flat stick.

"She's a teenage girl with the mentally of a spoiled eight-year-old girl," she said. Lavi's breathing grew harder as he let off a string of cuss words in his head.

"Oh yeah, her grandmother and Bookman don't approve."

Lavi's nostrils flared. "You can feel free to shut up and go away now." That's when her eyes grew wide. She lowered her ice pop and covered her mouth.

"Oh!" Stacy said. "She doesn't know that you're an angel, does she?" Lavi slammed his fist against the convenient store wall.

"Shut up!" he barked.

"Oh!" Stacy said. "I am right after all."

"I said shut up!"

Stacy flipped back her messy blonde hair. "You really are in trouble, boy. You're like me now."

"Don't fucking compare yourself to me!"

The demon shrugged her shoulders. "Still, that's going to be a nasty shock when she finds out that she is giving birth to an abomination after about…" She did a quick count on her fingers. "Six months?"

"I said, shut up!" the angel yelled. He yanked off his hammer charm. Stacy put up her hands, smirking.

"Oh, you're mad!" she said. Stacy threw her chewed-on ice pop stick in the garbage. "I think it's time for me to go anyway." She turned to walk away. But then, Stacy stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

"You might want to watch your back," she said. "Once that kid is born, her army will be after them to really bring the end!" Lavi glared at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked. The demon turned around with a mocking grin on her face.

"Let's just say what happened in Ikebukuro was just round one," she said. Before Lavi could say a word, she was gone. He dropped his hammer on the ground and sighed. Stacy may have been annoying to him, but she did warn him when things were about to go up shit's creek for him. Lavi closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. It wouldn't be long before Ami called to interrogate him on his whereabouts.


	20. Warning

Key Nineteen: Warning:

What happened to the rest of Allen's party? Allen and Ophelia ended up back in the tower of the Fallen City. But where did everyone else go?

-City-

Harry and Tyrone ended up the east side of the outer ring in the seventh circle. They woke up on the sand in the middle of the vast space. The boys awoke to emptiness. They couldn't smell anything. No angels were visible in plain sight. The silence around them sent chills up and down their spines. They had no idea where everyone else disappeared to.

"Damn," Tyrone muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "That was one hell of a drop." He turned his head and saw Harry staring at him. "You okay, man?"

"I've been better," Harry mumbled. The angels looked around.

"Where did everybody go?" Harry asked.

"I have no idea…" Tyrone said.

"Shhh, shhh," Harry whispered.

"What is it?" his friend asked. The one-armed angel's eyes shifted left and right as he looked up at the sky. A faint fluttered made his spine go stiff.

"We can't stay here," he said.

"What?" Tyrone asked.

"Let's go," Harry said. He grabbed his friend by the arm and ran away, dragging him behind.

-Tower-

Allen sat on the floor, huddled in a ball. He could still feel Aizen around in his body. Each step it took made his body break out in a cold sweat. It felt like someone was stabbing him in the veins and arteries. What made it worse was the crawling around. Allen felt froze in place as he heard the damned creature moving around in his body. It sounded like cockroaches in pipes or rats in the walls. Road ran her finger around in circles on his back.

"I only did this out of love," she whispered. The angel turned his head with a cold glare in his eyes. Road gritted her teeth, but refused to let him piss her off anymore. Instead, she leaned down to his ear.

"I know where your little friends are in the city," the monster whispered. Allen's eyes grew wide. Road felt a small tinge of glee when she caught his reaction.

"Right now, they are trying to look for each other," she said. "I gathered as much. Want to know how I know? Let's say that certain city angels do things for us for their protection." Road snickered.

"Kind of pointless if you ask me. They'll all get eaten in the end. Anyway, some of these little mutt angels have been spying on your friends. Here's the deal." She pulled Allen to her chest. A strange thrill ran through her body as she felt Aizen crawling around in his back.

"I could have your friends attacked and eaten by our dogs. They are pretty hungry and would do anything for a bite. However, I could convince them to look the other way when they pass by them. That all depends on you. Remember that." Road patted Allen on the back before she left the room.

-City-

Grace and Kit ended up the west side of the middle ring in the seventh circle. The sharpness of the cold winds around them awoke them up. They too found no one in sight. However, Grace found the cold unsettling. The distant howling made her stomach as Kit held her in his arms. She knew that they couldn't stay where they were for long. Grace informed Kit of this in his ear. They had no idea where everyone else disappeared to.

"Kit! Kit!" Grace shouted. "Where are you?" She paused when she heard a muzzled noise. "Hello?" The muzzled sounds grew louder, prompting her to look down. Grace found herself sitting on Kit's face.

"Oh, sorry," she said. The angel climbed off, letting Kit sit up.

"Thanks," he said after he caught his breath.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. You have such a bony ass."

"Shut up." Grace punched him in the ribs.

"Ow," Kit complained.

"Serves you right." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"That's better."

Kit took a look around the empty landscape. "Uh… where are we?"

"Huh?" Grace looked around for herself. Her eyes widened when a cold breeze crept up her back. She leaned into Kit's ear.

"We cannot stay here," she whispered. Kit was about to ask why when he heard howling in the distance.

"Go where?" he asked instead.

"It doesn't matter!" Grace said. "We can't stay here!" She grabbed the other angel by the hand and began running.

-Tower-

While alone in his pain, Allen sat huddled in anger at his own helplessness. _I can't let it end this way_ , he thought. He turned his eyes in towards his mind.

_Leda. Marion. Can anyone hear me?_


	21. Leda

Key Twenty: Leda:

Tyki glared at Leda in her cage.

"You put me in so much trouble, you know that?" he asked. The angel cut him a cold look. The doctor gritted his teeth.

"You, bitch! This was your doing, wasn't it? Wasn't it?"

The red-haired angel smirked. "And what if I did?"

The doctor cleared his throat as he tried to calm himself. Tyki pulled out a cigarette and lit up. "You have me in quite a pickle." He blew the smoke into her cage. "Road and everyone else in the tower wants me to rip off your pretty little wings. I don't want to do that." Leda's nose curled as more smoke was blown into her cage.

"You," he said. "You are something else, you know that?" His face came within inches of hers behind the bars.

"Did you really think he was going to make it?" Tyki asked in a low voice. Leda's lips curved into a jaded smile.

"Not really," she said.

"So why would you help him?"

Leda broke down into laughter. The sounds she made only served to stir up the anger that Tyki had been sitting on. He clenched his cigarette in his teeth.

"What's so funny?" he asked. Leda laughed as she looked him in the eye.

"I still won," she said.

"You won?" He fought the urge not to grab her throat as she broke into a grin. Her eyes seemed to glow like a cat's in the dark.

"It didn't matter if Allen made it or not. If it pisses you off, I win." Leda broke down laughing like a crackling witch. Tyki lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat. Even as he strangled her, she didn't stop grinning. _Do what you will to me, bastard_ , she thought. _But I will help that boy escape again and again just to piss you off._

When she was out cold, Tyki drew back his hands, but the rage inside didn't face away.

"Bitch," he muttered under his breath. The doctor spat on the angel and walked out the secret room.

_Leda. Marion. Can anyone hear me?_


	22. Messages

Key Twenty-One: Messages:

_Leda. Marion. Can anyone hear me?_

_Yes._

Allen lifted his head. _Who's there?_

_It's me, idiot._

_Marion?_

_I'm surprised that you aren't hell. What do you want?_

Allen took in a deep breath. _Listen, I do not have long to talk. There is a parasite crawling around inside of me. I don't know how long my mind will be here._

_Okay…_

_I am going to try and escape again._ Allen paused when he heard snorting in his head. _What's so funny?_

_Are you that stupid? You already tried it once. What makes you think that you can do it again?_

Allen gritted his teeth and breathed in hard. _I have to get out of here! I don't belong here!_

_And where are you going to go?_

_Back home. To heaven._

_And how can you be sure that they are still looking for you?_

_I won't know until I try. Why are you so negative all of the time? Did something happen to make you like this?_

_Nothing._

Allen began to smirk. _That's the first time you've lied to me._

_I am not!_

The other angel lay back on the floor. _That's it. I am taking you with me along with me crew on the outside._

Marion broke down laughing. _You really are crazy._

_I mean it. I will take you, Alma, and Ophelia out of the Tower and we'll leave the city._

_You are out of your mind. You won't be able to pull it off._

_You have to trust me on this._

Another voice filled his head. _Just like I did with you?_

Allen jerked his eyes open. _Ophelia?_

_Marion's right. We can't do it._

_What is it with all of this negativity? You guys can't give up so easily. I am sure you have someone looking for you in Heaven. Come with me and I will help you escape. I got out of the Tower once. I know I can do it again._ Allen broke down screaming in pain as he huddled up into a ball. His body broke out into a sweat.

_Allen!_

The weakened angel chuckled. _I'm okay. I know we can do this. Please trust me! I will get us all out of here! You can't give up so easily. Believe in me on this!_

Marion's voice filled his head. _How would you even try to pull off getting out of this tower._

_That's where I come in._

Allen's eyes widened at the sound of the third voice in his head. _Leda?_

 _Who's Leda?_ The girls asked.

The chained up angel grinned in their minds. _Hello ladies._


End file.
